I've been using the software since 2004. The 2010 price change to me is merely a bump in the road. The product was very underpriced for years. Take a look on the market for 2009. Ahsay will dominate their market completely in 1-3 years because of new and developing focus: increased quality assurance; support staff and hours are increasing; and the product line is having an extreme focus and performance. I look at the price increase as a move to ensure their presence. And if you are using Ahsay, it's your presence too. Don't look at quantity of 1. Yes, those jump off the page. I always look at big numbers like quantity 1,000 OBM.
I hear so many statements about "my business plan" is shot. Really? I've spoken and e-mailed with hundreds (yes, literally), and there are not too many business savvy deployments out there. I've attempted twice in the past five years to setup a co-op for Ahsay partners where we could buy in $50,000-$100,000 bulk purchases, but when push comes to shove, the "my business plan" doesn't have any real demographics, so people don't buy in bulk. They buy the minimum possible. If you ask yourself how to compete with M*** or Carbon***, then I'll help--don't! Scherring from Ahsay said it best in that even if Ahsay gave you the software free, you couldn't afford the hardware infrastructure.
Are the Ahsay pricing levels for 2010 reasonable for the industry? Yes. Shop around.
Are the pricing levels relative to Ahsay themselves steep? Only with ACB. It's the new flagship though, and file backup is easy and profitable.
Ciao,
Jim Robinson, MBA, PMP
